Paul Abbandonato reports on how Big John could bring the La Liga X-Factor to Wales in more ways than one

THE influence of Spain's La Liga, the No 1 league in the world, could have a double effect upon Wales if John Toshack's plans for a Welsh coaching revolution get the green light in the next few days.

Toshack will use the knowhow accrued over 20 years as a manager abroad to bring fresh ideas and tactics to Wales in a bid to end that horrendous qualifying hoodoo.

And he hopes to be helped in his plans by Salvador Iriarte, who has spent the past 20 years as a Spanish coach himself tangling with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

There are suggestions in Spain that Toshack wants Iriarte as his No 2 with Wales, the first time a foreign coach would have held down such a role here.

Toshack will meet the FAW's management committee in the next few days to discuss the coaching structure in Wales, including the senior team, the U21s, U19s and U17s.

He will take a close look at the whole setup, from top to bottom, before working out the best way forward.

But, according to sources in Spain, it does seem that Toshack wants Iriarte to be part of the senior setup and to help coach the likes of Ryan Giggs, John Hartson and co.

With Eddie Niedzwiecki and Mark Bowen, Wales' coaches for the past five years, having joined Mark Hughes at Blackburn, it is taken as read they won't be involved any more.

Toshack will want his own backroom team in place, potentially consisting of Iriarte and another coach.

So, the big question is: Just who is Salvador Iriarte? Cue the Western Mail making inquiries in Spain.

Where, it appears, Iriarte has established a reputation as a shrewd tactician who is also a top analyst on the game - having locked horns down the years with the likes of Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Bernd Schuster and Hugo Sanchez.

A proud Basque, Iriarte played as a midfielder in the 1981-82 Real Sociedad side who won a Spanish Second Division title.

When his playing days ended, he switched into coaching by taking charge of the Real Sociedad reserve side.

Because the club employed a strict Basque-only players rule, Iriarte's brief was to fast-track Spanish youngsters through the system and into the senior team.

He succeeded to the extent where, when Toshack then took over as Real Sociedad manager, he led the team full of Iriarte's youngsters to second spot in Spain's La Liga.

Toshack's unsung Real Sociedad team even went to the Bernabeu and blitzed Real Madrid 4-0 in a Spanish League clash.

They also hammered Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to lift the Spanish Cup.

Those results were seen as pivotal to Toshack becoming manager of the world's biggest club, but he has clearly never forgotten the help given to him by Iriarte.

Toshack worked with Iriarte again when he returned to San Sebastian for a second spell in charge of Real Sociedad.

When Toshack left on that occasion to join Deportivo La Coruna, Iriarte was put in charge for a 12-month spell as manager.

But he then drifted back into the coaching background where his real strength is thought to be, working directly with Toshack on two other occasions.

The Spaniard is thought to be a top assessor of opposition tactics. If he is brought on board with Wales, he could have a key role to play in spying upon our future World Cup or European Championship opponents.

Toshack has been in the Wales job for less than two weeks and it is still early days as he looks at the best way forward over the next five years.

The coaching plans he draws up will be presented to the FAW's management committee and will then have to go before the 28-man ruling council to be rubber-stamped. But it seems inconceivable either Niedz-wiecki or Bowen could be involved in the Toshack setup, whereas Iriarte might be.

The FAW, of course, explored the possibility of appointing a foreign manager, with Philippe Troussier, Gerard Houllier and Dick Advocaat on their short-list.

In the end, though, they could end up having the best of two worlds. A Welshman schooled in the La Liga way of doing things ... and a No 2 whose grounding comes in the league currently rated the No 1 in the world.